Banished
by Saerry Snape
Summary: A short tale of a Quel'dorei fallen to her addiction and her brother, who would not allow her venture alone into the Horde.


**Author's Note:** These are two of my Quel'dorei (Blood Elf) characters from WoW, both of which have appeared in one of my other fics, _Child of the Horde_. This is just a short covering some of their background.

* * *

_"You have succumbed to your addiction."_

_"You cannot stay here. You are no longer of the Quel'dorei."_

_"You are banished, Lymalis Sylindaal."_

Banished.

The word rang through her head and she sank down at the end of one of the Theramore docks, plunging her head into her hands. Tears stained her cheeks as she saw a glimmer of fel green against her palms and was reminded of what she had done.

She had fallen prey to the addiction she had fought since she was a child. For the six years since Quel'thelas had fallen she had controlled herself, not accepting to fall to the addiction so many others of her kin had fallen to. Now she was one of them – a Blood Elf, a Sin'dorei.

Sighing, she wiped the tears from her face and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the clear blue sky above her. She closed her eyes after a moment, relishing in the feel of the wind brushing across her face and through her short crimson hair, breathing in the scent of the sea.

She would miss this place…

"Lymmi!"

Glowing eyes blinked open and she turned in confusion to stare at the figure running towards her. Short dark hair plastered against his head from sweat, her younger brother came running towards her down the docks with his robes open over a tan tunic and dark pants. His green eyes – which were blessedly clear of the same fel glow as she had now – focused on her face as he came to a stop, his boots skidding against the wooden planks.

"I heard," he gasped, before he had quite gotten his breath back, "I heard you were being banished!"

Lymalis nodded solemnly and said, "I must be gone by tomorrow evening."

"I'm going with you."

"No!" she exclaimed, coming swiftly to her feet. She scowled at him from her lower height and snapped, "Hres, you are staying here!"

Ever stubborn, Hresden shook his head and said, "I'm coming with you, Lymmi. I came with you here when Quel'thalas fell and I'm not going to let you face this banishment alone."

"Hres, no. You have to stay here. Your training…"

"Curse the training!"

Lymalis jumped at the harsh tone in her younger brother's voice and stared at him for a moment. Then she stepped forward, reaching up to gently touch his face. He frowned down at her, his face looking as young as hers despite the forty-four year difference between them and his pale eyes glowing with nothing but his own magical power. Slowly he lifted a hand and closed his fingers around hers, his hand strong and steady despite the fact that he had trained as a mage since he was young.

"Lymmi," he said softly, "please."

She had taken care of him, raised him, since their mother had died just after his birth and their father had disappeared without a trace before even that. He was more like a child to her than her little brother and she tended to treat him as both. Safety was what she wanted for him overall – safety that would be gone if he followed her to where she was being forced to go.

"I can not let you do this, Hresden," she murmured. "I can not let you just throw your life away for no reason."

His gaze hardened then and he let go of her hand, stepping back away from her swiftly. "Throw my life away?" he growled out. "Why is choosing to go with my sister into a world she does not know throwing my life away?"

"You have no reason to come with me!"

"I think that I more have every reason to come with you!"

Lymalis scowled at that and gestured up at the tower where she knew he spent hours every day studying and practicing his art. "Leave here," she hissed, "and you leave anything more than you can learn in that tower."

Hresden stared stiffly at her at that and spat, "I can not bring myself to care." Crossing his arms over his chest, the tips of his ears twitching irritably, as he continued, "And there are mages in other places that can teach me anything more I need to know."

"Plus," he snarled out as she started to come up with another argument, "if you do _not_ agree with me, I will simply follow you anyway. And you know that I will."

_Damn his stubborn hide_, thought Lymalis bitterly. She knew very well that he would keep to his word as there had been time and time again when she had gone out of Quel'thelas and had discovered him following her. And no amount of scruffing him or screaming at him had made him regret it.

Scowling at him, she spat, "Fine. But you watch…you will regret this the moment we step outside of Theramore."

Hresden just smiled at that and said calmly, "Certainly, dear sister. I am sure I will." He then bowed slightly towards her with, "I shall go pack then. Until tomorrow when we depart."

Stiffly he turned and walked away, leaving her standing at the end of the docks and feeling like something had shredded part of her soul. His calm voice hadn't fooled her – he was burning inside with anger at her but he rarely ever showed it when he was angry with her. And he never called her 'Lymmi' when he was angry, simply 'dear sister' or 'Lymalis'.

She hated it when she made him angry but she did not want him to ruin his life just because she had ruined her own. But things were out of her hands now…she had refused to let him come with her and he, being the stubborn little brother that she had raised him to be, was going against her wants.

Sighing, she slowly walked back along the docks and into the heart of Theramore, heading towards her room. She still had a few things she needed to pack and so little time to do so. Once again she was being forced from her home.

She almost wished that it were the Scourge again coming to force her away from it… Then she might just be able to justify her little brother coming with her.

* * *

"Al diel shala," said the two Quel'dorei that had come to see her off. They were the ones who had formally banished her and she was not entirely happy for them to be there. 

But Lymalis smiled and bowed to them, murmuring, "Shorel'aran." She then turned her back on the pair of them and ran her fingers through the fur on the head of her feline companion who had been with her since before Quel'thalas had fallen. Kydah purred in reaction and thrust her head heavily against her hand, tail flicking contentedly.

Glancing around, she saw no sign of her brother and took that as a good omen. Perhaps he had changed his mind…

She _hoped_ that he had changed his mind.

Sighing, she swung up into her hawkstrider's back, settling the bird's immediate restless movement with a shift of her knees and a gentle pull on the reins. It rustled its feathers in response and turned its head back towards her, prompting her to lean forward and gently stroke it above its eye.

"Shh, Sibeen. Be at ease."

The hawkstrider rustled its feathers again but seemed much calmer now, which satisfied her. Lymalis cast another glance around for her brother then nodded at the two Quel'dorei, who were watching her intently. Then she snapped the reins and Sibeen burst forward, kicking up dust with her talons, and Kydah yowled as she followed along in the whirlwind.

Her heart ached at that she was being forced to leave her home but she was happy Hresden had not made an appearance. If she could get away before he realized it…

"Bal'a dash, malanore," came from her right as she made her way out of Theramore along the road. She cried out in surprise and jerked Sibeen to a sudden halt, whirling her around as she reached for her sword. As Hresden's face entered her view as he smiled at her from the back of his own hawkstrider, her heart sank.

He had been up even earlier than her, sitting here waiting along the road for her.

"Hres!"

"Lymmi," he replied calmly. "I had a distinct feeling you would try to leave without me."

"I…"

"I forgive you," he said with a gentle smile. Nudging his hawkstrider forward until they sat knee-to-knee, he then leaned over so their faces were close. "But, please, do not try to push me away again. I do not care what I could learn about magic here. All I care about is _you_."

Lymalis just stared at him for a moment then laughed lightly, rising slightly from her saddle and leaning over so she could half hug him. As she sank back down, she ruffled his wild hair and said, "Alright, little brother…you win. But I had better not hear a word of regret!"

"Never," assured Hresden with a rakish smile. He then cocked his head at the road in front of him before saying childishly, "Race you."

"What?"

"You heard me!" he cried as he urged his hawkstrider forward. "Ha!"

She blinked after him then hissed, "Hya, Sibeen!" The hawkstrider shot forward with a startled squawk and Kydah grumbled irritably as she raced along behind. "Hres! You utter child!"

He just laughed in response and she growled before bursting out laughing herself, fully throwing herself into the childish race he had started. Her heavy heart lightened as they raced playfully along the road towards the Barrens, acting the same as they had so many years ago in the streets of Quel'thalas.

_Perhaps_, she thought as they left the dreary gloom of Dustwallow Marsh and entered the Barrens, _this banishment will not be so bad after all._

---

_Al diel shala – Safe travels  
Shorel'aran – Farewell  
Bal'a dash, malanore – Greetings, traveler_


End file.
